Kryptonian Religious Guild

Contents

History

Origin

The Kryptonian Religious Guild was one of the major guild houses that formed on the planet Krypton and consisted of devout religious figures. They believed in the worship of a number of Kryptonian deities which included the chief Sun God Rao that was analagous to their homeworlds sun. In addition to Rao, they also upheld the faith in other deities such as Cythonna and Yuda. The symbolism of the Guild was seen in their sigil which was the representation fo the Flamebird - a mythical creature that was half-phoenix and half-dragon. Whilst the number of deities might make it appear that they were a polytheisic faith but the Religious Guild was in fact more in common with Catholicism with Rao serving as a monotheisic deity with the others serving as a type of "angel" beneath the Sun God. Certain aspects of the Guild were similar to cabals and cults with a number of layers of secrecy that concealed further mysteries. This explained why the Religious Guild was in fact the smallest of the Guilds and why so little was actually known of them.

Whilst deeply rooted within Kryptonian society, there was very little actual interaction with the clergy beyond normal events such as birth, marriages and death. In fact, the Religious Guild itself did not interact with the rest of society. Priests of Rao garbed themselves in flowing dark robes and obscured their faces with glowing featurless masks. During the time Nova Cycle Celebration, the Guild had the right to absolve any criminal of their choosing and remove their sin.

Faith

Several members of the Rleigious Guild were present within the city of Kandor when it was attacked by the Coluan supervillain known as Brainiac. After the city was abducted from Krypton, it became known as the Bottled City of Kandor as its inhabitants had been shrunk and retained within Brainiac's Skull Ship. Those Kryptonians that died during Brainiac's attack were given a service by members of this Guild so that their souls could join Rao. The Religious Guild on Kandor were the only survivors of their group after the planet Krypton exploded.

In the shrunken city of Kandor, a Kryptonian named Thara Ak-Var was chosen to join the guild after a series of recurring dreams in which she visited upon by the spiritual essence of the Flamebird. She eventually left the guild to become the security chief for the New Kryptonian defense council, an adjunct division of the Kryptonian Military Guild. Whilst the original Religious Guild had long been destroyed, the Guild at Kandor along with the rest of the Kandorians sought to re-establish their society on the planetoid that they called New Krypton. The Religious Guild had very little impact on the early days of New Krypton's colonization.

When Kal-El was charged with treason and found guilty, his sentence for his crimes was death. However, General Zod stated that the Nova Cycle Celebration meant that the Religious Guild had the power to absolve Kal-El of his crime and he was ultimately spared.

Allies

Enemies

Notes

In current continuity, the Religious Guild reverences Rao (god of fire and the Sun), Telle (god of wisdom and the Science Guild, gender unspecified), Lorra (god of beauty and the Artists Guild, gender unspecified), Mordo (god of strength and the Military Guild, gender unspecified), Yuda (god of the Moon and the Labor Guild, gender unspecified), and Cythonna (goddess of ice and the Religious Guild itself).